Maytham Thurman in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (Courtesy of The Lewis and Shirley White Theatre)
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, currently onstage at the White Theatre at the J, is adapted from Mark Haddon’s massively popular 2003 novel of the same name. Both tell the story of Christopher Boone, a 15-year-old autistic boy who, when the play opens, has just found the body of his neighbor’s murdered dog.
Christopher (played here by Maytham Thurman) is determined to find out who was responsible for the death of the dog, Wellington. To do so, he has to hide his detective work from his father, Ed (Jordan Fox), who has repeatedly instructed Christopher to leave other people alone and stay out of their business.
Christopher has other impediments to questioning his neighbors as well. He can find conversations frustrating due to his difficulty reading social cues and his literal-mindedness. (He hates metaphors.) He dislikes being touched and can experience sensory overload. But he also has intense determination and pushes through to talk to his neighbors. The resulting conversations end up pushing him toward an even bigger mystery than the one he set out to solve.
Haddon’s novel was written in the first person, with Christopher recounting his experiences directly for the reader. In adapting the book, playwright Simon Stephens has translated that first-person approach as a series of journal entries, apparently written as some sort of assignment for his teacher. Siobhan (Patty Whitlock) is essentially the show’s narrator as she reads Christopher’s words, occasionally commenting on them as she does so. It’s a concept that can take some getting used to, but Whitlock’s delivery is direct yet encouraging, and easy to connect with.
Much of the show’s emotional narration comes from the set itself. Designed by John Rohr and reminiscent of the original London and Broadway sets, Curious Incident is performed against a backdrop of tall walls sectioned off into a grid of black boxes—like high-tech graph paper. Creative use of lights (by Seth Sneary) and projections (Justin Dudzik) set the scenes and also reflect Christopher’s thoughts, feelings, and experiences.
As successful as it was, Haddon’s book was controversial when it came out. It received some praise for its depiction of Christopher’s autism (which is not actually named in either the novel or the play), but also much criticism for heavily relying on stereotypes. (Haddon has freely admitted he did very little research on autism and based his protagonist on a few individuals he knew.) The play hasn’t received the same volume of criticism, but there’s also a dearth of public critical response from autistic voices. This could likely be because the play, by design as written and typically staged, is at odds with the needs of many autistic audience members. Sensory overload is not just something Christopher experiences but also a narrative device to let the audience share that feeling.
The White Theater’s production, directed by The Coterie Theatre’s Producing Artistic Director Khalia Davis Philp, addressed this issue by staging a sensory-friendly performance on March 19 and by making noise-cancelling headphones and other resources available for all performances.
Correction: An earlier version of this review incorrectly identified the actress playing Christopher’s teacher.
“The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” runs at The White Theatre at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Kansas City (5801 W 115 Street, Overland Park, KS) through March 30. For more information, visit thewhitetheatre.org.
